Chapter 10 : Mortification – a ninth feature of the gratitude we owe the Mother of God
Continuing our translation of the 1845 reprint of Fr François Poiré’s Triple Crown of the Mother of God (1643 French edition).
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| Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac (Poggi, 2020) |
It is not enough for the chaste Spouse in the Canticles[1] to go only to the hill of frankincense, meaning Prayer and Devotion; in order to please her Beloved, she must also go to the mountain of Myrrh, which is nothing other than Mortification. The Royal Prophet, moreover, would not be impressed if we were to offer praises to God with only pipes and organs[2] – which, according to St Gregory, represent the happiness and excitement within a heart deriving pleasure in prayer – without accompanying their music with the sound of timbrels, which are the symbol of Mortification. Let us accordingly offer Mortification as a companion to the Devotion we discussed in the previous chapter so as to honour the MOTHER OF GOD in every way we think will be pleasing to her.
Footnotes
[1] Till the day break, and the shadows retire, I will go to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. Cant. iv. 6.
[2] Ps. CL.
§ 1. How Mortification is a pleasing form of gratitude to the MOTHER OF GOD
1 We would have very little reason to believe that the Mother of Love, whose very being is suffused with gentleness and compassion, took pleasure in seeing us suffer if there were not some great secret in suffering.
2 We should note firstly that it is she who makes our sacrifice complete, for as the Angelic Doctor teaches[1]:
In order for it to be perfect it is not enough for us to present to God our soul’s good by means of Prayer and Devotion or our material goods (which we call our fortune) by means of alms-giving, but in addition we have to offer Him our body’s good and honour Him with this other half of our whole – which is the proper office of Mortification.In this way we fulfil all justice and offer to His divine Majesty a gracious sacrifice from the depths of the heart and a Holocaust of which there remains no part, however small, which is not entirely consumed by the fire of charity, rising up to heaven with a most sweet fragrance.
Footnotes
3 In the second place this dear Mother has a perfect understanding of the excellent fruits we obtain through the practice of Mortification. The Holy Fathers have clearly set these forth and I do not intend to go through them all. I will say only in passing that according to what they say[1] of Mortification
it cleanses the cesspit of vice and bridles the unruly motions of the flesh, controlling their impulses and keeping them in their proper place;
- it restores interior peace[2], maintaining the authority of reason and casting down the pride of that part of our soul which is rebellious;
- it frees the spirit[3] of all the difficulties that weigh it down and provides it with the means of soaring heavenwards through contemplation of eternal things;
- it offers satisfaction[4] for past sins and merits additional graces for the future;
- it enriches[5] and makes more beautiful the crown of glory to be placed on our heads;
- it appeases the wrath of God[6] and makes Him look favourably upon our prayers;
- it casts back the rage[7] of those who are the enemies of our salvation and takes away from them the power to do us harm;
– in short, it glorifies God and renders unto Him the tithe and tribute of our mortal life.
Who would be so much his own worst enemy as to allow his spiritual Mother and the Guardian of his salvation to refuse him through misplaced compassion so many blessings and deprive him of such great benefits? We should not in fact expect this from her since she takes a longer view and is more focused on those things which will cause us to rejoice through eternity than on things we might find upsetting for a moment in time.
Footnotes
[1] Cyprianus.
[2] Basil.
[3] Chrysost.
[4] Bernard.
[5] Augustin.
[6] Hieronim.
[7] Athanas.
4 Even if that were not the case, would it not be enough for us to know that she has been a true model of mortification and this should make us renounce all the pleasures of a comfortable life so as to embrace the rigour and harshness that would make us similar to her? St Bonaventure recounts what the Holy Virgin revealed[1] to St Elisabeth, daughter of Andrew, King of Hungary:
that she had not received any grace or favour from Heaven except through most fervent prayers, continual weeping and a life which was extremely hard and demanding.
She says in the Canticle of love[2] that it is not surprising that her beautiful skin has become so worn-looking since she has been continually suffered from adversity and a life full of travails, just as though the powerful rays of the Sun had been beating down upon her. She is angry at being called Beautiful, being altogether filled with anguish. Her Spouse is in agreement that she has a fragrance of myrrh and aloes; and she herself is glorified by this[3] as by the sweetest smell that can come from her garments. Whilst it is true that she received this severe treatment from on high like one of the most gentle caresses of Heaven, the big contribution she herself made through her own choice and volition must not be underestimated. I go back to what is written in the first chapter of the Canticles. Her Spouse speaks to her of jewels and enamelled gold bracelets, but she moves the conversation away from this and speaks of a bundle of myrrh which she will keep forever between her breasts, even unto death. If in fact we were to look closely we would find that her life has been nothing other than a tapestry of mortification woven with duty, toil and endless sorrows. Once this realisation has sunk in, will it really be possible to find a true servant of the Virgin who would be willing to rest while she was labouring unceasingly, and to lead a life without any trials and difficulties while she was enduring a perpetual martyrdom in body and soul? May that never turn out to be the case and in fact I prefer to think that there would be no one who would not say with the wise and valiant Urias[4]:
The Ark of God and the abode of the most holy Trinity, beloved of Heaven, is dwelling under a tent in the middle of the fields, beneath the Moon and at the mercy of bad weather; and the most valiant soldiers in the army who are guarding it day and night are encamped on the bare earth without any refreshment ; will I rest and take my ease, leaving the company of those who are under arms and have to bear the burdens of war? May God come unto my aid so that this thought will never come into my mind and my conscience will never suffer the reproach of such shameful cowardice.
Footnotes
[1] Medit. Vitæ Christi, c. 3.
[2] Do not consider me that I am brown, because the sun hath altered my colour: Cant. i 5.
[3] and the sweet smell of thy ointments above all aromatical spices . . .Thy lips, my spouse, are as a dropping honeycomb, honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments, as the smell of frankincense: Cant. iv 10-11; I yielded a sweet odour like the best myrrh: Eccles. xxiv. 20.
[4] 2 Kings (2 Samuel) xi.
5 There we see the Holy Resolution of a beautiful soul and the noble conclusion of a heart worthy of the MOTHER OF GOD. All that I am going to add are the golden words of the blessed Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, a Carmelite nun who died in Florence in the year 1593 on the 14th of August.
This holy nun was engaged in contemplation of the sublime mystery of the triumphant Assumption of the glorious Virgin and was transported into an ecstasy which lasted from Vespers until seven o’clock in the evening, during which time she received wondrous illuminations and perfect insights into the great dignities of the Queen of Heaven and the service which is due to her. After she emerged from the ecstasy, she remained silent for a very long time and then suddenly she began to speak, her face shining brightly like that of an angel:“Lightness of body, joyfulness of heart, an eagerness to understand, remembering blessings received, purity of intention, simplicity in deeds, truthfuless in words, and mortification of the senses – these are the qualities necessary for someone who wishes to ascend and come before Mary.”
© Peter Bloor 2025
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SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.
The Virgin of Tenderness. >12th century.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xxiv. 30-31.
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